JACKSON, Minn. — The 45th annual AGCO Jackson Nationals powered by FENDT was a thriller on Saturday night at Jackson Motorplex, where Carson Macedo emerged victorious during the crown jewel event.
Macedo outlasted Brad Sweet in an epic five-lap shootout to garner the World of Outlaws NOS Energy Drink Sprint Car Series victory that paid $25,000. It marked his second straight year of winning the event finale.
James McFadden, who swept the two preliminary nights and won the King of the Hill to earn the pole position for the 35-lap feature, led the first 25 laps in a race that was non-stop following a red flag on the start.
A hiccup on lap 26 by McFadden, who widened his exit off turn two, allowed Macedo to pounce. He plugged the narrow gap on the bottom groove entering turn three to take the lead.
“I think that was literally the only lap that he missed the bottom,” Macedo said. “He was pretty flawless up until that point. He just missed it just that tiny bit off of two and he got spinning down the backstretch and I was able to squeeze off the bottom, grab that grip and just get to his inside.
“I know it was probably close, but there just wasn’t a whole lot of opportunity other than that I didn’t think. You kinda had to force the issue.”
The final caution of the race on lap 31 set up a wild final five laps. Third-running Brad Sweet left the favored bottom and powered around the top groove in turns one and two to pass McFadden for second place on the restart. He then edged Macedo exiting turn four to lead the lap.
Macedo executed a slide job into turns one and two to reclaim the top spot. The duo went back and forth for a couple of laps before Sweet used a slide job in turn two to take back the lead on lap 34. He took the white flag in front, but Macedo offered one last slider into turns one and two before protecting the bottom entering turn three to score the victory.
“I knew that with Brad and James behind me, they’re extremely good race car drivers, I knew they’d be searching around trying to find something else,” Macedo said. “By the time I could hear him he was already by me or at my right side. I was able to kinda squeeze that grip into one and slide him. I was in full guess mode. I didn’t really know where to be.
“When you’re in that spot it’s tough to know exactly where you’re supposed to be. I’ve got the utmost respect for Brad Sweet. He’s an unbelievable race car driver so to duel with him there at the end was pretty cool.”
Sweet’s runner-up result was his best outing of the weekend.
“I knew my car was really good in that King of the Hill up top,” Sweet said. “I figured I didn’t have much to lose (restarting third with five laps remaining). I just kinda got outraced there at the end. I felt like I could have done a better job at the end once I got in front of him to keep him behind me. He surprised me with some of the runs he got.
“Taking the white in the lead I should have just really protected the bottom. He got back to my inside. He did a better job of protecting and moving his car around.”
Donny Schatz used a late move to garner a podium result.
“It’s a pretty respectable finish,” he said. “Without that yellow we weren’t going to finish there, but that’s the way racing is and we got it. We had a pretty respectable weekend. It was a step in the right direction.”
McFadden placed fourth and Giovanni Scelzi was fifth.
Feature Finish (35 Laps)
1. 41-Carson Macedo (2); 2. 49-Brad Sweet (3); 3. 15-Donny Schatz (5); 4. 83-James McFadden (1); 5. 18-Giovanni Scelzi (4); 6. 1S-Logan Schuchart (11); 7. 1T-Tanner Holmes (8); 8. 24-Rico Abreu (9); 9. 39M-Justin Sanders (7); 10. 5-Spencer Bayston (18); 11. 17-Sheldon Haudenschild (12); 12. 9-Kasey Kahne (14); 13. 2-David Gravel (17); 14. 11-Cory Eliason (15); 15. 10-Scott Bogucki (13); 16. 3Z-Brock Zearfoss (10); 17. 2KS-Chase Randall (16); 18. 7S-Robbie Price (19); 19. 15H-Sam Hafertepe Jr (20); 20. (DNF) 7-Ian Madsen (23); 21. (DNF) 25-Lachlan McHugh (21); 22. (DNF) 83JR-Michael Kofoid (6); 23. (DNF) 22K-Kaleb Johnson (22); 24. (DNF) 16-Brooke Tatnell (24).